Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Today the lovely Kristy from Quiet Play is giving us some inspiration for the HEROES theme on Le Challenge. Be sure to come back here and link up your heroes craft projects on September 15th for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop and follow us for more inspiration. Here's Kristy...

Heroes. We’ve all got them. But currently mine are all LEGO-fied. Thanks to my kidlets’ obsession with LEGO DC Superheroes and Star Wars. So for a bit of inspiration… here are some fun paper pieced heroes!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No! It’s Superman!

Nanananananananana BATMAN! Okay maybe I didn’t have enough “na’s” in there but you get the idea.

Or maybe you’re a Star Wars fan – there are some heroes happening there too. And what are heroes without villains, or as well call them in my house, goodies and baddies? So here’s an assortment of both.

Keen to try one of your own for the very fun Le Challenge this time round? There’s extra time for this challenge so plenty of time to try some paper piecing! You can find these patterns in the Quiet Play Craftsy shop as freebies.

While you’re there, why not check out some of the other patterns on offer? You know, in case you win the giveaway. Oh yes, there’s a giveaway attached to this post! Winner’s choice of 3 paper pieced patterns. Just leave a comment telling us your favourite fictional hero!

And finally to end on the hero note… how about a theme song? You know it’s gotta be from the 80’s. I think the 80’s has a song for every possible theme there is.

So. Enjoy. ;)

Thanks Kristy! The winner of the giveaway will be open until Monday 29th July and announced here on Tuesday 30th... comment away!

For a chance to win a $25 Fat Quarter Shop gift certificate make sure you link up your finished projects and please remember to include the button or a link to Le Challenge in your blog post or Flickr description.

Thursday, 11 July 2013

Hello fellow crafters! I am Kessa from Kessa In Stitches, a (mostly) knitting blog. I've been invited by Nat of Made In Home to talk about this month's theme: Toffee. I believe that most of us (including myself) were pretty stumped by the theme when we first heard the theme. Possibly distracted by the idea of chucking down boxes of the yummy candy, rather than crafting something inspired by it.... Or perhaps that was just me. ;) But once I got started brainstorming, the ideas just kept flowing!
One of the most obvious way to analyse this month's theme is by the colour. Because toffee has such a wide range of tone (from reddish, to yellowish, to brownish) around a neutral colour that pairs beautifully with many other trending colours (white, black, turquoise, coral, navy, red, etc) it makes things so much easier. The next thing I considered was the medium. There is a surprising variety of fabrics that looks wonderful in toffee colour:

Tulle.

Have you heard? Tulle is back on the scene. As a rather girly-girl personally, I'm delighted! And as this fashion blogger have shown, there are ways to wear tulle skirts without flouncing around. Personally, I think it will make a perfect combination with a slouchy handknit sweater! Interested in trying your hands at sewing a tulle skirt? Try this tutorial here.

If you feel out of place wearing tulle, how about a little flower brooch? Perhaps something along the line of these precious looking ones here:

I have glued some burlap fabric to old glass jars and tied some twine around it. These are made for a friend's wedding. On the night of the wedding, they will be filled with little bunches of Baby's Breath flowers for romantic but inexpensive table centerpieces.

If you're not a fan of fabric crafts, perhaps decoupage?

Here I have decoupaged a thrifted wooden box, covering it with pages from a thrifted Finnish storybook and dabbed toffee-coloured wood stain over to give it a nice vintage/aged look. A thin layer of varnish keeps it clean and fresh-looking. This was a money box for another friend's wedding, hence the slot. But after making and gifting it to my friend, I have decided there is going to be at least another one (without a slot) in the near future!

Or somebeading?

This bracelet features pink-metallic brown donut-beads that reminds me of crunchy toffee.

All this research and brainstorming about toffee is not without its repercussions. ;) I whipped up some caramel (which I like to think of as liquid toffee), some for a friend and some for myself.

As a knitter, I have also been working on some toffee-inspired knitting projects this month...

These are actually designs I'm working on at the moment. They are yet to be finished, but I have 4 more days!.. Though it is highly unlikely I will finish these in time.

But all is not lost. The main craft I had chosen, and completed, is actually..... *drumroll*...

Monday, 1 July 2013

Hello! My name is Erin and I blog over at Missy Mac Creations.When Lucy and Nat first announced Le Challenge I was crazy excited. Like crrrrazy excited. I love the whole premise and look forward to hearing each month's new topic - and then seeing everyone's amazing, and often diverse, interpretations Therefore it is an absolute honour to be here today sharing some of my inspirations with you. I have to admit, though, this month's theme - TOFFEE - surprised, shocked and scared me. Toffee? Really? What could I possibly do with that? Well, other than take some rather artsy selfies on IG of me scoffing box fulls of the stuff, that is. ;)

I'm sure I wasn't the only one whose first thought upon seeing the word "TOFFEE" was, well, toffee. Yum. But instead of sitting back and just drooling (or eating), what about using some images in a palette builder to create the perfect colour scheme for a quilt? Or a knitted jumper? Or a cushion cover?

For these I used the absolutely FREE Pictaculous. It was quick, easy and lots of fun. Just don't ask me where the light blue came from. Anyhoo... go have a play!My second thought was toffee apples. I know, more food. Ignore what that may say about me.So, there's fabric...

Candy Apples by Kanvas for Benartex - Pink

Or a handbag...

Toffee Apple handbag pattern by Melly & Me

Or get the kiddies involved and have fun making some bookmarks...

Moving away from food (there is hope for me yet), did you know that there is a Lalaloopsy called Toffee Cocoa Cuddles?

Isn't she super cute! I think so too so why not let her inspire you?

Make your own Toffee Cocoa Cuddles rag doll...

Loli Dolly Big Sister pattern by Quirky Artist Loft

Or grab some yarn and crochet a hat...

Lala-Loopy Crochetted Beanie by SewLoca

Or feel free to dye your hair pink and play dress ups. Just remember that we want to see pics. ;)Another cute character is Toffee the My Little Pony.

Howdi pardner! This simple design could turn into a sweet embroidery or a cross stitch or a softie or even a quilt!Or... go crazy and make a Toffee inspired hobby horse... out of socks...

Sock Hobby Horse tutorial by Rad Megan

... or fabric!

Hobby Horse tutorial by Abby Glassenberg

Just don't forget her trademark hat or tatt (the theme is "toffee" afterall!).And if all that isn't enough, you still have time to whip up one of the Toffee the Bear cross stitch designs by Sue Hill for Heritage Crafts.

There are a number of different kits available, with Toffee in all sorts of adorable poses, but I think I heart this one best. ;)What do you think? Are you inspired? I hope I've given you all some new ideas. I'd love to see where you take them so be sure to link up your "Toffee" inspired pieces in 2 weeks time.Thanks again to the lovely Lucy and Nat for allowing me to hijack their page for a wee second. Truth is, I totally bugged them until they gave me the call up (apologies ladies!) but it has been fun.See you all at the linky party!